‘Malawi making strides in energy sector’

Malawi is said to be making strides in energy sector following the commissioning of Kapichira II Hydro Electric Power station in January that has provided an additional 64 megawatts to the country’s electricity grid.

Ministry of Energy public relations officer Joseph Kalowekamo made the revelation on Monday in an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana).

“Gone are the days when the country could witness energy crisis evidenced by persistent blackouts,” he said.

Kalowekamo said government’s commitment in commissioning Kapichira II in January has played a pivotal role in reducing frequent electricity blackouts that has eventually accelerated economic stand of the nation in whole.

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“We have seen a very tremendous improvement from where we were two years. The coming in of Kapichira phase two has encouraged investors to operate in various businesses in the country,” he said.

According to Kalowekamo, the country is able to have adequate fuel supply a thing which has never happened before.

To ensure its sustainability, Energy ministry said government intends to construct addition power plants from hydro, solar and other renewable resources to increase energy supply.

“For electricity, though we are in a right track but we expect the demand to grow from next year so we have plans to construct more power plants to meet such demand and also continue maintaining steady supply of fuel,” he said.

The energy sector has been experiencing hiccups for some time. This included persistent power supply outrages and fuel shortage. The climax was in 2010/11 when the country’s filling stations had endless long queues and frequent load shedding.